‘“It shows the kind of character we have,” said left wing Thomas Vanek, who scored the game-winner. “We felt good after the second [period], and we talked about driving it up a little bit in the third. Even the goal [that gave Tampa a 3-2 lead with 13:46 left], it didn’t stop us. We just kept getting the puck deep and getting chances.”’

‘The decision facing the Sabres was whether Pratt is an improvement over rookie Andrej Sekera. The 21-year-old Sekera started the season in Rochester but was called up when Jaroslav Spacek went down with a shoulder injury. Spacek will return Thursday, but with Dmitri Kalinin out at least a month with a knee sprain, there is a long-term opening.’

'We poured on as much as we could," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "With three games in four nights, and the back-to-back games, I thought that our guys gave it everything they had and they were rewarded for how hard they worked."'

'In the extra session, Vanek skated through the neutral zone along the right wing with Nathan Paetsch on his left. From the right circle Vanek threw a shot on goal with Paetsch and the puck found its way past Johan Holmqvist for the win.'

‘It was a night for unlikely heroes as struggling Maxim Afinogenov scored the Sabres’ first goal, Nathan Paetsch tied the game in the third period and the eternally frustrated Thomas Vanek finished things off in overtime to give Buffalo a 4-3 win on Saturday night at jam-packed St. Pete Times Forum.’